Harbinger of Death
by ink-drying
Summary: "So let me get this straight, you can just talk to dead people?" In a world where gods fly, aliens drop from the sky, and a man is frozen in time for a hundred years, a girl communicating with the dead seems a little impossible. Bucky/OC
1. cemeteries are lonely

**So this is the first story ever on this website, so hopefully it will be good. Constructive criticism is appreciated if you have it. Hope you enjoy it.** **PM me with any questions you feel like need answered.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own anything affiliated with the MCU or anything in relation to it, despite how much I wish I did.**

* * *

 **Athens Asylum for the Insane**

 **Athens, Ohio**

 **1952**

It had been eight months since Laura Byers was dragged through double wide doors and into the pristine white interior of the mental institution that would act as her home for the indefinite future. The strength of the two orderlies was enough to overpower her as she was pulled through the hallway, her feet unable to properly hold her weight due to exhaustion from fighting them. The patients she passed and called out for help to either just stared or ignored her completely.

" _Laura Byers, psychic or psychotic?"_ The newspaper headline read and she soon became the phenomenon of Athens after the public heard of why she was admitted. The story goes she had a psychotic break after seeing her grandmother suffer a fatal aneurysm, followed by Laura screaming, cursing, and attacking her mother. The police arrived and within an hour and a half she was processed and carted off to the asylum. It wasn't until she was locked in a room on the third ward that she was informed her grandmother was perfectly fine and had never suffered an aneurysm in the first place.

The psychiatrist labeled her with acute psychosis as well as heavy delusions which would make her stay indefinite until they were able to 'cure' her. However, Laura's parents were adamant that she remain institutionalized until she was truly fixed because God forbid her mental health interfere with her parents partying with the social elite.

So here she stayed, and here she would most likely rot.

"Up and at 'em ladies!" A _bang_ from the metal door across the room knocked Laura out of her reprieve though she continued to stare up at the ceiling. A lock was turned and the heavy door swung open to reveal one of the four orderlies that patrolled the third ward she and 100 other women resided in. He had an ugly smile on his face and the blue uniform that he was sanctioned to wear was now wrinkled and covered in stains. She hoped it was just bodily fluid and not blood like it was once.

"Byers, your check up with the doc was moved up. He wants to see you know." He walked over to where she lay next to her appointed bedmate whose legs were twitching sporadically. After eight months, Laura learned to ignore the spasms coming from the woman who suffered from palsy.

"Now you're gonna behave right? 'Cause last time I escorted you, ya had an episode and bit into my hand. Had to get seven stitches." He held up the back of his right hand to her and she saw the now healing injury she caused last month. She remained silent and shifted her gaze to look him in the eye watching as he just huffed and pulled a set of keys from his pockets.

He walked down to the end of the cot and unlocked her left ankle that was cuffed to the bed rail. All the patients were required them to make sure everyone stayed in bed through the night, despite how much it caused them pain. Though, what were a few broken ankles to the people who got to go home and sleep in their fluffy beds with warm blankets?

The orderlie dragged Laura up and pushed her through the door before allowing the other three men standing in the hall to enter and unhandcuff the rest of the room. It was then they would make the trek down the third ward, turn right to go downstairs to the first ward, passing by the trash exit and a door that led to a small sitting area outside that said **FACULTY ONLY** in bold letters.

She had paid attention to every single escape exit since she arrived into the facility, the trash exit and faculty door being the only possible ones she'd be able to make it to, however she never had the actually courage to try and leave. They passed by the doors and arrived at an oak one that had become very familiar to her during her stay.

 _Dr. Daniel Jones_ the plaque on the door read that quickly opened and revealed the man himself. His salt and pepper colored hair gelled nicely as was his mustache. His suit was pressed and so was the small, red pocket square tucked in neatly to complete his ensemble.

"Thank you, Peter, for escorting her down, but I don't think she'll cause us any trouble down here. Isn't that right, Laura?" He gently smiled down at her, revealing a row of pearly whites. Laura nodded slowly, glancing out of the corner of her eye as she watched Peter stiffly turn to make his way back to his rounds.

Dr. Jones gestured to the armchair in front of his desk which she gingerly sat in and tucked her feet up underneath her. It was quiet for the next few minutes as Dr. Jones dug through his file cabinets and produced a black folder along with a worn notepad, then quickly set up the magnetic tape recorder that rested on the desk. After everything was organized how he liked it, he pressed record and started the session.

"It is April twenty-seventh, nineteen fifty-two and the time is eleven on the dot. This is session number nine. I am sitting here with Laura Byers, age twenty-four, admittance into Athens Mental Institution, August sixteenth of the year nineteen fifty-one. Now Laura, four months ago you had a breakdown after you said you saw the head nurse, Patty, fall from the second floor stairwell. However she was and still is fine. Have you had anymore experiences like this?"

"No sir." _That's a lie._ Laura had just gotten better at masking her screams and cries from the staff so they never suspected anything. In truth she had experienced a vivid scene last week of one of the patients being found dead in a storage closet. In order to be able to leave the asylum she had to remain episode free for at least five months and she already lost one when she attacked Peter.

"That's very good. So the medication has been helping I see." He scribbled something down on the notepad. "Laura, a young girl growing up in your family situation, she may have a tendency to _rebel._ You have taken to lying about what you truly see in order to get attention and that's not a good habit to develop. It's going to be very difficult for you to find a husband, you're twenty-four and you don't even have a steady boy." Dr. Jones laced his hands together on the desk as he spoke to her like she was a three year old.

 _It's kind of hard to find someone while you're trapped within the walls of a madhouse._ Laura thought, focusing intently on the polished wood of the desk in front of her as the doctor once again went through the same routine he always did at their sessions.

"Laura are you listening?" He asked and she snapped her head up to look at Dr. Jones, her eyes widening when she saw a large, red hole with torn skin and clotting blood in the middle of his forehead. However, it didn't seem to faze Dr. Jones at all as he kept looking questionably at Laura who tried to keep in the scream that threatened to tear through her throat. A small trickle of blood escaped from the wound and slowly trailed down the bridge of his nose, past the corner of his mouth before dripping onto his red pocket hankie.

"Laura?" The doctor asked again and her gray eyes clouded with a foggy haze before everything around her turned back to normal. No hole was in the doctor's head and no blood was on his pristine suit. "You know Laura, I think our session is done for the day. Why don't you go down to the hall for breakfast before you start your chores and I'll see you again next week, yeah?"

She nodded slowly and slipped out of the chair, quickly heading toward the door, wanting to leave and forget about the episode she just had. Leaving Dr. Jones's office, she walked at a quick pace, bunching her hands further down into the pockets of the brown cardigan that covered her sanctioned blue hospital gown.

Taking a right, she arrived at the dinning hall and took a seat at one of the long tables next to Dotty Parks, a woman she had become friends with during their forced institution despite the six year age difference. Dotty was admitted in on hysteria after receiving news that her husband had died over in Korea.

Gray and inedible looking food was placed in front of her which she quickly choked down then was escorted to the linen room where she would wash clothes and bedsheets for the next few hours, return for dinner and time in the activity room, then be herded up to bed with the other patients.

* * *

 _The lights were blown out which turned the hospital into a pitch black mass. The windows on the third ward were shattered and bodies of patients and faculty littered the hallways with bullet holes covering their bodies. A dark figure with a large frame, a man, stalked around the debris and carnage as he looked in each room, assessing them before moving on to the next. A large rifle hung in his right hand while the left swung with each step. There was only one room left unchecked with its door remaining shut, until the man lifted up his boot and slammed it into the door, breaking it off its hinges and letting it crash to the floor._

 _The man made his way over to the first bed which held a small woman with shedding dark brown hair and her hands tightly curled around her ears and another one with lost stare and unfocused eyes. Without a second thought, he lifted the rifle into place and fired a round into each before moving on. He treated the next three beds the same way before approaching the last one where a blonde haired woman with twitching legs had tears streaming down her cheeks. Another gunshot went off. When he turned to the next girl, she wasn't in the bed like she was suppose to be, the handcuff hanging in the open air instead of attached to her ankle._

 _Where was the target? He thought to himself, knowing the intel he was given shouldn't have been wrong. Suddenly he heard an inhuman shriek, causing the blood in his ears to drum, from level above him._

 _The target._

 _With a determined glint in his eyes, the man stalked out of the room and made for the upper floor._

Laura quickly woke from her awful nightmare and proceeded to let out a scream that was just as inhuman as the one in her dream. Curses were heard from outside the door and the lock turned before four male orderlies poured into the room and proceeded to remove her from her bed and drag her out to the hallway.

Peter stood in the dim lighting, heavy bags under his eyes, "Take her up to the treatment room. We're dealing with this once and for all," he ordered and turned to make his way to inform Dr. Jones. Two of the men pulled her by the arms and the other two carried flashlights as they went upstairs and onto the fourth ward, heading straight for the last door at the end of the long hallway. It was the 'treatment room' as it was labeled but it was anything but helpful to the patients and their conditions.

Once inside the room, they threw Laura down onto a padded table and began to cuff her wrist and ankles to it while setting up a machine that was across from her. They began to prep her, putting a cold gel on her temples while one of the men stood behind her with electrodes grasped tightly in his hands

The door to the room opened and in walked Dr. Jones, a robe covering his sleepwear and a lit pipe in his right hand. He slowly walked over to where she lay, watching silently as the orderlies finished preparing the electroconvulsive treatment.

"Laura, Laura, Laura," the doctor chastised, leaning in close to her face to where he could feel the struggling puffs of breaths she released. "I thought you were getting better, but here you are, waking up the patients and making them frightful again. You're just a trouble maker aren't you? Don't you want to be cured?"

His question was only met with silence, but he continued nonetheless.

"And here I was thinking of letting you be released back into the world in the next couple months, but I can see now I was wrong. Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Dr. Jones lifted his left hand and gently stroked her face and action which made her flinch away from the cold contact, but leveled him with her strong gaze and in a somber voice stated:

"You're all going to die."

A stern look appeared on the doctor's face and with a simple nod to the nurse, he walked over and watched as a thick rubber strip was placed between Laura's teeth before turning the knob on the control panel to 150v. Electricity quickly flowed through her body and her muffled screams filled the air.


	2. graves full of bones

**Hope you all enjoy this chapter and thank you to those who add this to your favorites and followed and reviewed.**

 **Just an FYI, the beginning of this chapter is slightly a torture scene and I get that some people don't like reading about that so I will bold the first letter of the post torture paragraph so if you don't like to read it you can skip past it.**

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After a few seconds of electricity flowed through her body, Dr. Jones signaled for the man controlling the machine to stop as he looked at Laura's panting form. Sweat beads dotted her face, as well as the roots of her hair, and her dingy gown was sticking to her body every time she moved. Not that she could do much of that anyway.

"Laura," Dr. Jones said softly, coming to stand next to her head and awkwardly patted down her wet hair as he talked in her ear. "All this pain can stop and you know it. We're not the bad guys here but you insist on treating us as such. We are trying to help."

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye, and after regaining the ability to feel her tongue, she spit out the mouth guard and muttered, "You're going to die." Annoyance flashed through the doctor's eyes and with a huff he grabbed the leather strap and shoved it back into her mouth, nodding in the direction of the nurses to turn back on the machine.

"Once more, that should get her to forget about this silly ability she thinks she has."

Pain coursed through her body once more, just as intense as the last time. Gritting her teeth harder against the leather strap, Laura's hand jerked in their restraints and a tight pain spread through her chest, causing her breathing to be stunted for a moment. She moaned out a painful cry, muffled by the binding in her mouth, tears streaming down her face that mixed in with the sweat.

 **S** uddenly, in a quick burst of adrenaline, somehow miraculously found, she spit out the mouth guard and let out a loud scream, and in that moment the electricity went out. The only sound in the room was Laura's panting and the sound of the orderlies shoes pounding on the concrete floor as they tried to figure out what just happened.

"Why aren't the backup generators turning on?" Asked one of the men, his distressed voice cutting through the tension filled room.

"I don't know," mumbled Dr. Jones, the sound of his loafers clicked their way toward the window that offered in a small amount of moonlight. The window faced the back of the facility, overlooking the woods and the cemetery that lined the property. "Hughes, take Donovan and check it out," He instructed, turning away from the window and nodding at two of the men closest to the door.

Reluctantly, the men left, feeling their way down the hall as they tried to remember the way to the basement which held the switch for the generators. Fifteen minutes had passed, and the men still hadn't returned, nor had the lights been turned back on. Everyone in the room was growing restless except for Laura who enjoyed the reprieve from the electricity despite the growing problem surrounding them.

She heard whispers coming from her right and angled her head to try and hear the conversation of the remaining three men and the doctor, however with her ears still buzzing she wasn't able to make out much.

 _What are they talking about?_ She wondered, but her thoughts were immediately distracted by the sound of a gunshot ringing through the open hall, striking off one of the steel doors close by.

The men in the room froze, their breathing stilled. Through half-lidded eyes, Laura watched Dr. Jones order one of the men to close the door to the room, however he was too late as a large figure, dressed in black, passed through the threshold.

"Please," whimpered Dr. Jones, his hands coming up above his head, "You don't have to do-"

A bullet entered his head, effectively silencing him along with the other three orderlies who also dropped to the ground. The shooter took slow steps over to where Laura lay immobile and she was able to see metal glint off the moonlight from his left side.

It was his arm.

"Wh-what's go-" she was cut off as the metal arm reach across her and ripped the straps that held her down. He did the same with the straps on her ankles before lifting her off the padded table and over his shoulder.

The world spun for a short second and then she passed out.

* * *

With a gasp, Laura woke up panting heavily. Her head throbbed and she pressed a hand to it, hoping it would lessen, however it quickened when she realized that she wasn't in her room at the institution. It was a windowless, concrete room with nothing but a large fluorescent light and the bed she lay on. Opposite of her was a steel door and a small viewing slot and large bolts lining its entirety. Pulling herself up from the flat mattress, she stood slowly to her, wincing at the pricks she felt on the pads of her feet. With shaky steps, she stumbled up to the door and reached out for a handle only to realize it had none so she banged harshly on the metal.

"Hello!" She screamed, her voice cracking at the end.

For a second nothing happened, but then the viewing slot slid open and two eyes appeared. They were black and cold, and belonged to an even colder soldier who unlocked the deadbolt and heaved open the door. He was a tall man with a red beret atop his head and a very large gun clutched in his hands. He stared at Laura, expecting her with squinted eyes before turning his head to the side and shouting in a language she didn't know.

Following his shout, another man walked in, this one was shorter and balding. He wore a dress shirt with a tie, tucked into tweed pants and covered with a white coat. In his hand he held onto a yellow file folder. The short man nodded his head at the soldier who saluted before turning on his heel and leaving the room, slamming the door behind him.

"I am glad you are awake so quickly. I was afraid that physician's electric treatment was one volt too many." He crossed his arms in front of himself and slowly walked forward causing Laura to step quickly back. He spoke in accented English leading her to the conclusion that he wasn't American.

"I would like to check something," he muttered, digging into his coat and producing a pen. "Can you state your name and date of birth for me."

This gave Laura pause. _What was her name again? Oh right._ "M-my name is Laura Byers. Born the...fourteenth of...March. Nineteen twenty...eight."

He wrote something on top of the file folder. "You don't seem to have any large symptoms of amnesia, so that's good."

"Who are you? Where am I?" She asked, her voice sounding louder due to the empty room.

The man smiled, "I am Arnim Zola, a scientist for an organization known as Hydra."

 _Hydra. Where have I heard that before?_ She thought.

"As for where you are, I am afraid that is classified information." He shrugged his shoulder, a small smile still resting on his face.

Laura slowly backed up until the back of her knees nudged the mattress and she sat down heavily. "Why am I here?" She asked instead.

"We heard you had a special ability." Zola opened the file folder and pulled out a front page clipping of the head newspaper in Athens.

She scoffed, "You're really gonna believe a newspaper whose top story was once about a monkey robbing a Macy's? It's just another fabricated story."

"I don't think it is now. I am going to assume you weren't informed of this during your stay at the asylum, and I am so sorry to be the one to tell you this. Your grandmother passed away two months into your stay... from an aneurysm."

"You're lying," she quickly said, her heart beginning to race again.

Zola put back the newspaper clipping and pulled out another file this one labeled medical. He crossed the distance and held out the paper for her, gesturing for her to take it. "I am sorry to say I am not."

Laura's heart felt like it stopped beating as she looked upon the morgue report. Cause of death, plainly typed, _aneurysm_.

"But," she felt helpless, stuttering to form a response. "My parents would have told me themselves. They're going to be wondering what happened to me. Where you've taken me!"

Zola raised an eyebrow. "The same parents that had you committed?"

"I was a danger to myself and others," she mumbled, reciting what Dr. Jones had always told her in their sessions.

"Is that what they programmed into you? I am sorry to be the one breaking all this news to you, but your parents no longer reside in the state anymore."

"What?" she whispered, feeling like her world was completely crumbling around her.

"They left shortly after your grandmother passed. They live in Florida now."

She threw the medical file at him, but it didn't have the effect she'd hope for, only slowly floated to the ground. "Stop lying!" She shouted.

"I know you are confused and scared at the moment, but we are going to help you. You have a gift that-" She cut him off.

"Is that what you think it is? A gift! It's a nightmare. I've seen people I don't even know die in front of me. I saw a girl I've known since childhood choke on some kind of yellow fog in another damn war we'll be fighting in! Whatever you think you're going to get out of me, it's not going to be pretty. You should have left me in that asylum," she took a deep breath, confused at the anger that suddenly consumed her.

Zola was silent for a moment, nodding his head slightly. He opened the file folder one last time before speaking, "according to Dr. Jones's notes, you were scheduled for a lobotomy in two weeks time." Her eyes widened in disbelief. She knew the lab experiments the doctor would perform on patients he knew were a lost cause. A girl she roomed with, before she passed away, was given one and for the remainder of her stay all she did was sit in her wheelchair with a dead look in her eye. "You don't have to like being here, and frankly I don't care if you do or not." Zola shrugged and began to walk back to the door. "Hydra is trying to make this world a better place and you're going to help us do that. Without us, you'd be sitting in a chair, drooling off into space with the hole in your head. We saved your life. Show us a little respect!"

When he heard nothing else from her, Zola turned back around and saw her staring at the dusty floor, "Hydra will rule the world someday. You can either join us or be added to the ash heap." He raised a knuckle and tapped the door lightly, the guard from earlier sliding open the viewing slot before opening the door for him. "You will be fed shortly and given clothes to change into. You should rest up, it will be a busy day tomorrow."

He began to walk through the door when he heard her ask, "What happens tomorrow?"

"A step toward the future!" He shouted as he made his way down the hall and heard the slam of the door echo behind him.


	3. that don't make a sound

**So I watched Black Panther this week and guys let me tell you how FINE everyone was looking in that movie. I have been blessed and healed and was able to finish this chapter in honor of it.**

 **Thank you to the people/guests that reviewed. To the guest, I wish you had accounts so I could personally thank you.**

 **Anyway, here's a new chapter so I hope you all enjoy!**

Angry shouting from outside her room was what woke her the next day. Her head pounded and eyes stung from tears she shed yesterday when Zola left her alone, still unable to process how everything in her life turned into such a mess.

The steel door slammed open and in walked the same soldier with the red beret. He shouted at her, walking over to her bed and pulling her off of it and before she was able to regain her balance, he shoved her through the door and into the hallway. She shivered from the cold air while she was dragged along, unable to break his harsh grip on her arm, and ended up arriving in a large room with a cell in the center of it. Zola stood off to the right, muttering to a small group of soldiers that also wore red berets. He turned when he heard their approach and dismissed the other men.

"Good, you are here. We can begin your training." He walked over to the cell and produced a key from the pocket of his coat to unlock it.

"My...training?" Laura asked, her eyes still blurring from the sleep she was rudely awaken from. "Training for what?"

"You are going to be a valuable asset to Hydra, but not when you still have the physique of the upper elite you were once apart of," stated Zola, swinging open the cell door and gesturing for her to step inside.

Knowing that questioning him got her nowhere, she swallowed her annoyance and stepped inside the cell, flinching when he slammed it shut. She heard a door open to her left and turned to see a large man in black with four guards marching in behind him, guns at the ready. The man had dark hair that fell in front of his eyes when he shifted and his most striking feature was the metal arm on his left side.

Her mind flashed back to the night she was taken from the asylum and the metal arm that pulled her from her restraints on the electric shock table. It was him, just as terrifying without the gun in his hands.

Zola spoke from behind her, "This is the _Soldat_ and you will call him such. He is another valuable asset and will be your instructor for the duration of your stay with us." The cell opening across from her allowed the man to elegantly lumber in. Laura stepped back, hitting the bars with a _clang_.

"You're fine, he will not harm you." She felt his fingers reach through the bars and push her to the center. The men in the room didn't leave as she had hoped they would, instead stood around and mumbled to each other.

 _Great everyone will be here to witness my embarrassment._ She thought, slowly inching forward until she was directly in front of the scary looking man.

"Show me your fighting stance." His voice was low when he spoke, befitting his character.

"M-my what?" Laura asked carefully, afraid she might anger the man in the slightest of ways.

He didn't show it, but she could hear his annoyance when he talked, "Show me how you make your fists in a fight." Still confused, she spaced her legs apart and held up her arms, curling her hands into fist they way Richard Arlen did in her father's favorite movie, _Accomplice_. She grunted when the man's right hand reached out and grabbed onto her fists, uncurling her fingers and removing her thumb from inside them.

"Don't ever tuck in your thumb." He moved her thumb to wrap around her second and third knuckle and then adjusted her wrists. "You throw a punch like that, you're going to break it." He then placed a foot between her legs and kicked them out for the correct stance. He showed her how to extend her arm and align her wrist for the next few minutes, then stepped back.

"Punch me," he instructed, making her shocked. However, she decided to go for it and took a deep breath, brought up her right fist and aimed for his cheek when his metal hand shot out and stopped her fist, the flesh one shoving her stomach so hard it sent her sprawling to the floor. She heard the men around her chuckle and she turned her head to look back at Zola.

"I thought you said he wasn't going to hurt me," she gasped, rolling onto her hands and knees to slowly stand up, the hit to her stomach making it hard to intake air.

"I didn't. If I wanted to hurt you, you wouldn't have gotten back up," The man answered, matter of factly, standing in the exact same spot as if he hadn't just sent her on her ass. "Again." She huffed while pulling herself off the ground, and made her way back to him.

That was how the rest of her day went, he instructed her on the basics of fight technique, corrected her a dozen times, and sent her to the ground just as many. She was allowed one break to eat some kind of heated powder mash they gave her, honestly the so called "food" at the asylum tasted better, and to relieve herself. Then, it was back to the cell with the _Soldat_. At the end of training, her muscles ached and so did her back from being thrown on it all day. She was released back into her room with a pair of the same, but clean, gray clothes and another pan of the powder mash.

She guessed it was night, she had no perception of time passing in the windowless building she was confined to, by the way most of the men were exchanging their rifles and berets for business suits and briefcases. Did the people they went home to actually think these men worked in some office all day?

Laura lay on the stiff mattress lost in her thoughts, since it was really the only thing she could do in that place, when her vision started to go hazy. Another vision. She'd been having them more frequently the last month, but three within one week was new. How she received them would vary randomly, either she was looking down on the events as they happened or be directly in the middle of them.

This one was the latter.

The setting changed from the room she was locked in to a long hallway, both ends leading to nothing but darkness. From the right she heard a male scream and against her better judgment she followed the sound, walking further down the darkened hallway. Suddenly, she was transported into a brightly light room with many of the red hatted soldiers standing in a circle around something.

It was a someone, she later found out after passing through the men like they weren't even there. In the middle was the _Soldat,_ his jaw tightly clenched, standing over a bruised man who was sprawled out on the floor. It was the man that normally guarded her cell and dragged her out of bed in the morning, except he didn't look as scary from when she first met him. His left eye was swollen shut and a cut from his eyebrow had bled across his temple and dried. His normally pristine uniform was now wrinkled and torn.

Apart from his heavy breathing, the room was silent and thick with tension. A door from the left swang open and Zola marched in, followed by two more soldiers. Unlike the rest of the men, they wore black berets on their head.

The men parted as they walked through and met the _Soldat_ in the middle. Their hushed voices spoke a language she was still unfamiliar with and their accusatory gaze fell over the man. With a short command Zola directed toward the _Soldat,_ he lifted the pistol she didn't he was holding and fired a single shot through the man's head. Blood speckled the pants of the soldiers behind the dead man and now stained the concrete floor. No one else seemed very surprised of what quickly happened, however Laura shouted in surprise, stumbling backwards through the men in an attempt to escape.

As soon as the vision came it was gone quickly which left Laura sitting up on her mattress, screaming herself hoarse. Her door slammed open and in ran the man who would later end up with a bullet in his head. He stared at her, not knowing what to do, so he just let her scream.

* * *

"Laura, I can't help if you don't tell me what you saw," Zola said the next day in his office, which looked similar to Dr. Jones just without the windows and tape recorder. She couldn't remember much of what happened past her vision, but she did know that she screamed for some time before growing weary and falling to sleep.

The soldier outside her door didn't wake her with his shouts like normal, nor did he pull her out of bed. He knocked loudly on her door and opened it, waiting for her to get out of bed and walk out of the room. He didn't shove her or grumble under his breath when she walked too slow, but remained silent during their trip to Zola's office.

"Laura," Zola repeated, watching her eyes glaze over as she stared off into the distance. Her head slowly turned to him and she seemed to register that he was talking to her.

"The _Soldat_ killed that man who guards my door," she said softly, waiting for him to berate her like Dr. Jones always did.

"I see." Zola leaned back in his chair and folded his hands across his stomach. "Anything else?"

She hesitated, unsure of whether or not to tell Zola it was him who ordered the man's death. Instead she shrugged, "There were two men there. They were wearing black berets." For a second she thought she saw Zola's left eye twitch but his calm demeanor never changed.

"Thank you for sharing, Laura." He gestured over to the door and she sighed before heading over to it. "Officer Kransky will take you to _Soldat._ You have weapons training today."

Laura turned back around and gave Zola a confused look, "Weapons training?"

"That's what I said, no?" Zola raised an eyebrow, starting to get impatient with her. With her jaw clenched, she jerked open the door and left his office. The man waiting outside, Officer Kransky, quickly stood at attention and briskly started to walk toward the training center with Laura in tow. She had been trapped in this Hydra facility for two days and was already sick of Zola orders. She almost missed the asylum, almost, at least they played the radio and had somewhat better gray mash they passed off as food.

The officer brought her to another windowless concrete room that had a metal table in its center and the _Soldat_ was standing in front of it, his arms crossed over his chest making his tactical vest look strained. If her first impression of him wasn't so terrifying then she might of thought he was slightly good looking. As if he knew what she was thinking, his eyes flicked up to hers. The door slammed shut and they were both left alone to train.

 _I'm getting my ass kicked today._ She immediately thought, steeling herself for what was to come.


	4. hearts move through a tunnel

**DID YOU GUYS SEE THE NEW INFINITY WAR TRAILER?! I laughed, I cried, I died a little inside. I hope that purple grape doesn't hurt any of my babies.**

 **Anyway thank you to my reviewers and silent readers on the last chapter, hope you enjoy this one!**

* * *

 **Four Months Later**

"Amazing," muttered Zola, examining a blood sample beneath a microscope, "your blood cells regenerate at half the normal rate. Your healing factor is abnormally quickened, which might explain as to why you were able to receive so many electric shock treatments and still keep your memory…" He trailed off, becoming invested in Laura's blood sample while she sat in a chair to the side, watching him ramble. "I wonder," he reached out to the side and grabbed a vile before carefully extracting what was in it and exposing it to the blood sample.

Laura stretched her head up, trying to see what he was doing, "What's in that?"

"Polio," Zola said simply, shrugging his shoulders as if experimenting with a deadly virus was another Tuesday for him. "Ahah, I knew it! Your white blood cells are simply destroying the virus."

Laura's eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. She hadn't really paid attention in her science classes when she attended school, so Zola's excitement was lost on her. He quickly disposed of the sample before getting up to sanitize his work area and hands. With a hand gesture to Laura he left the lab and she had no choice but to follow. Leaving the room, she heard a mechanical _whir_ and knew the _Soldat_ was behind her, following at a distance. The past four months she had been living in the Hydra facility, the man with the metal arm had been instructed to be her constant guard by Zola, and so he kept an annoyingly close eye on her like every other soldier in the place.

He was absent for three weeks the previous month and no one answered her question of where he was until finally she saw him again, his eyes darker and his attitude more hostile. He still was silent toward her unless he was teaching her in training, which was only in fighting now since Zola decided after one week into her learning, and failing, how to assemble a handgun that she was wasting everyone's time. So she threw herself into fighting since it was the only thing that she could actually do while trapped there.

They turned a corner and Zola slowed to her speed, taking a yellow folder from an officer to the right and handing it to her. She thumbed through it, looking at the papers covered in a language she had learned was Russian and knew a little of it since all the men there spoke it. Toward the middle of the folder was a black and white photograph and she realized it was Officer Kransky, the man who guarded her door each night.

The man who would end up with a bullet in his head.

"What is this 'spose to mean?" she asked, still flipping through the folder.

Zola inclined his head to a group of officers they passed by, "Do you happen to know anything about the Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division, or S.H.I.E.L.D?"

Laura raised an eyebrow, _that was a mouthful_. "No. Should I?"

"You've been out of the loop from the world recently, so no one would blame you if you didn't. S.H.I.E.L.D was once a war agency which ultimately helped the Allies win the war. They later brought in scientists, like myself, to help achieve a higher foothold against the Russians in the Cold War."

"So, you're working for S.H.I.E.L.D?" She watched Zola nod as they continued walking. "And you're also working with the Russian?"

"You pieced that together quite quickly," he mocked, taking the folder from her. "S.H.I.E.L.D has many enemies, most they know of and others they've forgotten. However, due to the former party allegiance of most of the German scientists, they like to keep a close watch on all of us. Including me, which has become a large thorn in my side after I've worked so hard to set certain events into motion."

Laura stopped walking, "Wait, 'former party allegiance'? You're telling me that the United States has Nazi's working for them? That you're one? My brother died fighting you German bastards and here I am helping you 'create a better world'!"

"Actually, I am Swis-"

"I don't care!" Laura took a step forward, her mind reeling when a cold hand gripped her arm and pulled her away from Zola. The startled man in front of her raised a hand, beckoning for the _Soldat_ to release her.

Zola took a deep breath to collect himself before speaking. "I did not share Hitler's petty belief, but we here at Hydra are trying to help the world, truly we are, but S.H.I.E.L.D is standing in our way."

Laura's heart beat faster, still angry with the information she just received but she knew anger wasn't going to get a confession out of Zola, so clenched her jaw and pushed her loud thoughts to the back of her mind. "What does this have to do with Officer Kransky?" She asked, trying to get back from the tangent that had delved into.

Zola nodded his head to the left and they started to walk again, "I had begin to wonder after you spoke about your vision, why it was of him, so I did some digging. It turns out your guard was quite the spy." Stopping at a doorway that led into a large room, Zola held out his hand for her to enter. When she did she saw a group of officers standing around a beat up Kransky, his black hair slicked back by the blood which covered his face as well.

It was just like her vision.

The bleeding man on the ground looked up at her with the one eye that wasn't swollen shut and whimpered, "Help me."

Laura didn't move. She just stared at him with wide eyes, hoping that this was just a trick her mind was playing again.

"You had me fooled, Kransky, or should I call you Agent Davis since your cover has been blown?" Zola stepped through the crowd of me, coming to stand next to two officers in black berets. "Don't worry, we'll send your body back to your family. Send a message of what might happen if they want to blab to the wrong people." He moved to the right and let the _Soldat_ pass through, grabbing a gun off one of the officers and holding it level to the man's head. With one quick squeeze of the trigger, a bullet entered the spy's head and he fell to the ground.

Handing the gun back, the _Soldat_ turned around and went back to where Laura stood, still shocked. One of the men wearing a black beret suddenly spoke, his harsh Russian voice echoing in the open room though he spoke too quickly for her to piece together what he was saying.

She heard the metal on the man's arm shift behind her and felt his presence come closer. "Let this be a lesson to anyone who thinks they can betray Hydra," he translated stiffly and she felt his hot breath hit her exposed neck. The higher ranking officer kept talking but she didn't receive anymore translation only a look from Zola which told her all she needed to know.

 _This message is for you. Don't think of going against us._

The rest of the men in the circle gave a loud shout in union before quickly running off. Zola hurried up to her and gestured for to follow as he left the room and started his trek down a long hallway.

"What's going on?" Laura asked, passing by a room that had six officers in it, all throwing files and papers into wooden crates that were marked in Russian.

"We need to leave." Zola turned to the left which opened to a set of stairs that went down a level that Laura didn't even know was there. "We can't be sure how much information he told to S.H.I.E.L.D, so we need to move bases. Go deeper underground until we're off the radar." They arrived at a door that had a keypad installed and Zola hurriedly punched in a sequence of numbers before it opened with a hiss.

She felt the temperature drop tremendously when she entered the room and saw her breath float out in front of her. To her right there was a chair that had a circular metal headpiece attached to its top and metal clamps on the arm rest. On the left were two tall, metal, cylinder chambers with a small square viewing window on each of them. They had various wires and tubes connecting them to a large control panel and a thick fog swam out from underneath the two chambers.

 _What the hell?_ Laura thought, slowing to a stop as she stared at everything in horror and confusion. Apparently she accidentally voiced her thought out loud because she saw Zola look up from the book he was currently stuffing papers into.

"They're containment chambers for the both of you. It'll make it easier to transport you both and depending on how long Hydra has to go under, the effects of the outer world won't cause you any physical damage." Zola turned back to the papers he had in his hand, shuffling through them to make sure he had everything.

Before Laura could begin to protest she felt a tight pinch on her neck and turned around to see the _Soldat_ holding a now empty syringe in his metal hand. Her vision started to swim and her tongue felt heavy like it did when she got shock therapy.

"Wh-w-what di-did y-you give…me?" She choked out, feeling her legs start to give way beneath her.

"Horse tranquilizer. With your enhancement I-" A loud piercing noise cut off her hearing before her eyes rolled back and she promptly blacked out.

* * *

 **Sorry for the shortness of the chapter. It is just a filler, but the next one will make up for it :)**


	5. darkness, darkness, darkness

**1972**

 **Siberia**

With a loud gasp, taking in much needed breaths of oxygen, Laura fell from the cryofreeze chamber and onto the hard concrete floor. Rough hands wrapped around both her upper arms and hauled her up and over to a chair that resided on the side of the room. Her vision was still blurry like it always was coming back out of cryostasis, but it would quickly adjust. This was the fourth time she had been in and out of cryo since the first time in 1952 but she still wasn't used to it.

She looked around the room and saw men lining the walls with their hands crossed in front of them while four short men in lab coats scurried around a bunch of small screens that glowed a light blue. Seated at a desk near all of them was a man with wrinkled skin and slow movements who looked up once she was seated down.

"Ah, Laura, good to have you back with us," the old man said and wheezed out a laugh when she just glared at him. "And talkative as ever I see."

It was Zola. She last saw him in 1961 and due to his haggard appearance it was obviously later in the decade. The years had not been kind to him.

"Come along, dear." With some effort, Zola was able to heave himself out of the chair and tightly hold onto a metal walker that was placed nearby. He slowly began to inch his way out of the room, Laura by his side wondering if she was going to have to catch him should he fall.

 _He looks awful_ , she thought to herself.

As if reading her mind, Zola spoke, "I've looked better haven't I? Truth is, I'm dying and nothing is going to save me. The doctors gave me six months to a year, but I have set my affairs in order and Hydra will be in good hands after I am long gone." They stopped and she waited for Zola to catch his breath before they started walking again. She followed his lead though the facility hadn't changed much since the last time she was out of cryo, just a few new followers here and there, and she recognized the path they were taking was toward the preparation room. It was where the _Soldat_ , or the Winter Soldier as some had started to call him, would gear up for missions.

Zola began to slow as the room came in sight, his breathing more ragged than when they first started walking which made him lean against the doorframe for support when they reached their destination. The first thing she saw was the Winter Soldier who stood next to a blonde man wearing an expensive looking suit. The man turned at hearing footsteps and grinned widely when he saw them.

"Ah, Dr. Zola! I must congratulate you on the success of the Winter Soldier." The man walked over and offered his hand to Zola who slowly reached out his to shake. The man was Alexander Pierce, the new leader of Hydra and newly-appointed undersecretary of S.H.I.E.L.D. Though the latter knew nothing about the former.

Pierce scoffed, "So this is the girl that's helping you see the future? I must admit, Zola, she doesn't look like much."

"Well we all know appearances don't mean anything." They both shared a knowing look that Laura didn't understand. "Get ready, you have ten minutes until you leave," instructed Zola and she nodded to both the men before making her way further into the room.

She walked past the _Soldat_ and nodded, though he didn't acknowledge her. He was already suited up in his black combat attire, looking over his array of weapons that would suffice for the mission. She had a small crate that was pushed up against the back wall, packed with many different sets of clothes that she shifted through in order to find what would be appropriate. She wasn't going to be in the middle of the action so her gear didn't look as combative as the other men, but it would provide her warmth in the cold air.

She quickly changed behind a stack of weapons, tossing her old clothes to the side in favor of the new ones. When she was done, she exited the room and saw a group of men, including the _Soldat_ , waiting for her. They made their way through the facility and above ground, out into the freezing air and mountains of snow, heading to the snow tank that was parked and waiting for them. Just as she was climbing into the covered back, she was stopped by someone roughly grabbing her arm and yanking her back. She turned to face Pierce who now wore a large fur coat to protect him from the harsh winds of Siberia.

"This took a while to plan and I've been informed of your poor track record with missions. Just know that this better go perfectly...for you sake." He released her arm and gave a sickly smile before turning to head back inside. With a large sigh, she turned and grabbed onto the edge of the tank, pulling herself into the back.

 _This better go perfectly. For your sake._

 **. . .**

"Shit!"

It did not go perfectly.

Laura bit her lip harshly as she looked at the calf muscle that was extended on the floor in front of her, blood dripping from the bullet wound that now marred it. They were ambushed, three guys were dead, and it was her fault.

"Calm down." She looked up from her leg to see the man who saved her squatting down with clean rag in his hand. It was the _Soldat_ , and he began to wipe away the blood from the wound.

"Are you seriously telling me to calm down? I was just shot!" She started to get angry and went to sit up further until his metal hand met her shoulder and pushed her back down. She knew he didn't use his full strength cause she would've been sent through the floor if he had. Laura took a breath, trying steady her fast beating heart as she watched him work.

The fabric that covered her right leg was now torn at the upper knee after a run in with a pocket knife so that he could better access her wound. The bit of hair that covered her leg now stood on end due to the cold air that slipped past the old wood of the shack they hid in. It was a safehouse Hydra sometimes used for meetings or making trades, but now it offered them refuge from the people that hunted for them outside.

She didn't know who they were, if they belonged to S.H.I.E.L.D or another enemy agency, but it was obvious that they were waiting for members of Hydra. She triple checked their location, making sure the area was clear before the team went in, but she must've missed something.

Pierce was going to have her head.

This was the second time she messed up on a mission, the first being when she accidentally gave away their location due to her having a vision then automatically forgetting where she was. The multitude of visions she had been having after cryo was affecting her mind, or so Zola said, and was giving her a temporary state of amnesia that couldn't be helped. They rectified it the following month when one of the scientists created a small implant that would help her focus after a vision and not be 'totally useless' as they called her.

She didn't like the implant, it itched and she could feel it move sometimes on the back of her neck, but the worst part about it was that it caused her to be someone else, someone that she didn't recognize. The implant activated during a training session once and she remembered nothing of what happened, only feeling like a thick sheet was lifted from her eyes and that's when she saw the _Soldat's_ bruised jaw.

 _She_ had given him a bruise. The girl that he always knocked on her ass, gave him a punch hard enough to bruise. That _never_ happened. Whoever emerges from the implant when she has a vision, isn't good.

"Hey." She heard his voice call and that's when she finally came back to reality, shifting her gaze away from the wound and to the man in front of her.

"Did you even hear me?" He sounded annoyed which didn't help her feel any better about just getting shot.

 _Shit I just got shot. Shit!_

She shook her head, but the action made it spin even more.

The _Soldat_ sighed, "An extraction team is twelve hours out, you'll be fully healed within six. I need to wrap your leg and then we wait." He lifted her leg to rest on his knee and began to wrap a spare rag he found in the shack around it.

She watched him while he worked, her head still spinning. "You know, I've been stuck around you for twenty years, well give or take cryo, and I don't even know your real name." He paused in his bandaging suddenly and took in a deep breath which confused her.

"Do _you_ even know your real name?" She asked after he was still silent.

He huffed before continuing to wrap her leg, "I don't need to. I know my value to Hydra and that's all that matters." She would've let the question die if she hadn't seen his eyes shift to the left. The Winter Soldier was good at many things and lying was on that list, however she came to recognize the eye shift trait during their training. Whenever she would ask if she was improving, he would look to the left then nod which signalled to her that he really meant, _No, you're still as terrible as when you first arrived at the base_.

"Wow," she sounded out, leaning back to rest her weight on her elbows, "They've got you programmed wel- Ow!" She gasped in pain when he harshly tugged on the rag, tying up finishing knot before standing to wander to the otherside of the shack. She continued, "I must not be that important to them if they let me remember my own name. They're really not gonna be happy with me once they find out about this mission."

Laura heaved herself closer to the wall behind her so she could rest up against it, not knowing that her one-sided conversation felt like taunting to him. "So who were you in your old life?" Silence. "Do you remember it at all?" More silence. "You know, if you look past the metal arm and the terrifying personality, you're quite the looker. I bet back then girls would've clawed each others eyes out for a chance to get naked with you."

That pulled a response from him, "You're very crass for a woman." Was all he said before continuing to look through a crack in the wall that showed the snowy landscape outside.

"Yeah, spending twenty years with a bunch of soldiers changes one's attitude." She shrugged, trying to adjust her lower body so her leg could rest comfortable on the cold ground. He didn't say anything else which signalled to her that he wouldn't for the rest of their stay, so she tilted her head to the side so it would lean against her shoulder and decided to try and get some rest before the extraction team arrived.

She didn't know how long it had been since she fell asleep, but when she awoke it was darker out than it had originally been, and colder. She shuddered and looked around, noticing the _Soldat_ wasn't where she'd last seen him. With little effort she heaved herself off the ground, noting the pain in her leg wasn't as bad as it had been, and took small steps to walk through the shack.

That's when she heard it, a voice, no whimper, that was coming from behind a stack of crates. Peeking over them, she saw a black boot sticking out from the side that connected to a larger body. It was the _Soldat_. He looked in pain and was sweating heavily. Not knowing what to do, Laura lightly kicked the edge of his boot with her foot, jumping back when he quickly sat up.

His eyes were uncharacteristically wide and he looked visibly shaken. He looked around in a panic like he didn't know where he was and Laura, not sure of how to proceed next, slowly came into view.

" _Soldat_?" She asked carefully, keeping her distance from him. His eyes snapped up but no look of recognition crossed his face.

"No. No!" He looked panicked and began to whisper to himself quickly on repeat, "James Buchanan Barnes. James Buchanan Barnes."

 _James?_

"Wait, James? Is that your name?" She slowly walked forward, acting as if he was a cornered animal. In a sudden move, she was pushed up against the wall to her left, his metal arm tightly gripping her shoulder.

"Who are you?" He asked through gritted teeth. His long hair fell over his eyes which now looked angry instead of scared. Instead of answering his question, she lifted up her uninjured leg and slammed it up between his which made him groan and lower his head. This gave her the perfect advantage to cuff him on the side of the head and get away from his entrapment.

He caught himself before he hit the ground but didn't get back up like she thought he would. Instead, he rested on his hands and knees for a few seconds before slowly climbing to his feet with his back facing her. The way his shoulder rose and fell, she figured he was calmer than he had been a few minutes ago.

Laura took a small step forward and whispered hesitantly, "James?"

The man in question looked over his left shoulder and she saw his face scrunch in confusion, "Who the hell's that?"

 _What's happening?_ She thought to herself and opened her mouth to retell the events of the last three minutes that he apparently forgot about when the rumble of an engine outside the shack gave her pause. The _Soldat_ , or James, she honestly wasn't sure what to call him now, peered through a larger crack in the wall to the outside.

"It's the extraction team." He walked over to the weather damaged door and yanked it open, quickly running out to the snow tank. Laura followed at a much slower place and hauled herself into the covered back, mentally preparing what she would say to Pierce before he would probably kill her.

 **. . .**

"Mission report," the blonde man stiffly command after Laura and the _Soldat_ arrived in front of him. Their party of six was now reduced to only them and Pierce was not happy.

"Mission uncompleted. We were unable to acquire the target as we were ambushed. They didn't wear any identifying marks to be pinpointed to one particular group. They killed the four others with us," The _Soldat_ calmly explained next to Laura who was desperately trying not to shake in fear of what might happen after she confessed it was her fault.

She felt Pierce's eyes on her, "And whose job was it to maintain a secure perimeter?"

Taking in a deep breath to calm her nerves, Laura opened her mouth to speak, however was cut off by the man on her right. "I was the cause of it."

 _Wait, what?_

"I let myself become distracted which allowed our assiliants to pass my blind spot and kill our men."

 _What the hell is he doing?_

She glanced at him from the corner of her eye, but he looked straight ahead and a point on the wall behind Pierce's head. She waited for the blonde man's reaction and jumped when suddenly there were two guns pointed at the _Soldat's_ head. Two officers behind him were shouting in Russian and telling him to move forward, which he complied. He walked past Pierce and disappeared down a hallway to the right.

"Dismissed," Pierce told her and turned on his heel to follow the officers.

She called out after him, her voice ringing through the facility, "Sir, what's going to happen to him?"

He continued walking, "Nothing that hasn't been done to him before," he called over his shoulder before exiting the room and leaving her to her thoughts.

* * *

 **Tell me what you guys think :)**


	6. like a shipwreck, we die

**big thanks to everyone who favorited/followed/reviewed you make my cold hard grow warm :)**

 **a/n at the end of the chapter**

 **enjoy!**

* * *

 **1989**

Laura lay stretched out on the simple cot that served as her bed, gently massaging the back of her right arm, trying to lessen the pain in it she received from training. Some officer, who looked the same age her brother did before he was shipped off to war, over saw her today and paired her with a tall woman that had bright blonde hair and large muscles. The woman, along with four other Hydra members, were all being trained for some secret project that only the higher ups knew of, and with the Winter Soldier out of commission at the moment, _probably getting his brain rewired again_ , she was their practice dummy.

Despite her years of training at the hands of the Winter Soldier himself, this woman was something she'd never seen before. Unlike the Soldier, _James,_ she reminded herself, who gave her time to change and look over her fighting style, the woman only attacked and attacked until Laura was on the ground with no chance to fight back. She didn't believe Hydra when they called the group their "most elite death squad", but after the woman wrapped her in a chokehold five seconds into their fight, she was rethinking it. With a sigh, Laura leaned her head back against the wall and stared up at the ceiling, illuminated only so from the weak lamp beside her bed.

Suddenly a ringing noise filled her ears and she rubbed over them, trying to get rid of it only to intensify seconds later. She first thought it was from the fighting today, but then her sight started to haze over and she knew she was having another vision, however, this time she started to hear whispering.

 _That's a new one._

At first it was just inside her head, but then it sounded like someone was in the room with her. She clenched her eyes shut and tried to block it out, not used to the new voices, but it didn't help and when she reopened her eyes she was shocked to find a short figure hunched in the corner near the door.

She blinked her eyes a couple of times, making sure she was actually seeing it. When she was sure it was really there, she sat up and dropped her legs to the floor, slowing rising from the bed. Why she felt possessed to walk over to whatever it was, she didn't know, but now standing directly behind it she realized just how much of a stupid idea it was. Reaching her hand out to its shoulder and feeling the fabric move beneath her fingertips, she mumbled a low "hello" before turning it around. Not truly trusting her eyes and wondering if the woman from today gave her a concussion, it took her brain a minute to process who stood in front of her.

"Zola?" She exhaled the breath she held and took a step back. The man in front of her didn't acknowledge her presence, but continued to mutter to himself and stare at the floor. "Zola?" she repeated, reaching out a finger to poke his shoulder. In a quickness she didn't expect, Zola's meaty hand wrapped around her wrist and he began to mumble off a set of numbers that she couldn't process. With a jerk, she pulled herself away from him and stumbled backward, directly into a soft figure that had mysteriously appeared like Zola. Laura turned and her confusion increased when she looked into the eyes of someone she had lost long ago.

"Grandmother?"

The woman's eyes weren't the warm hazel that she had grown up with, but cold and dark like the Hydra facility itself. Laura's heart beat faster when her grandmother started to sound off the same sequence of numbers like Zola and then a new voice to her right added on. Looking over her shoulder, she saw a woman that she'd never seen before, standing between two bulky men, speaking in unison with the other figures. Their combined voices increased in volume and Laura's ears began to pound, causing her to press her hands into her ears to try and block them out, but it did no good. They started to move closer to her and she felt the air become thin as they crowded around her.

"Stop." Laura quietly commanded, trying to break out of the ring they had encircled her in. "STOP!" She yelled louder and clenched her eyes shut.

The voices disappeared and all she heard was the blood pounding in her ears. Peeking one of her eyes open, she saw that the room was empty and that she was alone in the middle of it. She dropped her hands from her ears and huffed out a breath of relief that she immediately chocked on when Zola abruptly reappeared in front of her and tightly grabbed the sides of her head, pulling her closer to him.

"Finish it." His voice was raspy which added to the terror of the situation. Laura squinted her eyes in confusion, but quickly widened them when she felt like all the blood rushed to her head. Hundreds of images flashed through her mind, coupled with just as many voices that all bled together until it was just one high pitched whine.

She felt Zola's hands leave her face before her eyes rolled back into her head and she passed out on the cold concrete.

 **...**

 **..**

Alexander Pierce knew his job as the undersecretary of S.H.I.E.L.D was an honor and not to be taken lightly, but it was times like now, when the council meetings extended into overtime, that he questions why he accepted the job. His once neat hair was now ruffled due to the many times his hand ran through it in frustration, and his left leg had started to fall asleep because of how long he had been sitting in his office chair.

Four holographic people argued in front of him, each trying to talk over the other while Pierce pinched the bridge of his nose and tried to fight off the migraine that began to pound in his head. The voices in front of him quieted and he glanced up in confusion, seeing them all turn to look towards the front of the office. A young man nervously poked his head into the room and met eyes with Pierce.

"Mr. Secretary, there's a phone call for you," he quickly spilled out, looking visibly scared for just having interrupted a council meeting. This wasn't protocol.

The councilors and Pierce continued to stare at the man, until Pierce broke the silence. "Yes, thank you, however we're in the middle of a council meeting so…" he trailed off, hoping the man would understand his cue to leave which he did not.

"They said it's urgent, Mr. Secretary," the man added on.

Pierce looked at the other councilors apologetically and opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a stern voice.

"It's alright Secretary Pierce." It was the councilwoman to his left, her English accent coming clearly through the hologram. "We'll table the discussion for a later date. It's not like we were actually making progress on it anyway."

The woman leaned forward to something that wasn't visible to anyone else and soon her hologram flickered, before disappearing. The other three councilmen across from her did the same and soon Pierce was alone at the table. He sighed, knowing he would have to do damage control once they reconvened, but pushed the thought aside and stood up from his chair, walked over to his desk and picked up the phone. He held the receiver to his ear, but paused when he saw the man still stood in the doorway. Upon seeing Pierce's glare, he took the hint and quickly left the room.

Holding the phone back up to his ear, he spoke in a clipped tone, "Yes?"

" _Mr. Pierce_." A Russian voice cut through and his eyes widened in surprise, not expecting a Hydra official to contact him at S.H.I.E.L.D. His hand quickly reached underneath his desk and found the small button he had installed that would secure his office against unwanted attention from the outside.

Once he was sure his security protocol was fully activated, he responded, "What are you doing? If I need something I visit the base, you don't call me in broad daylight at S.H.I.E.L.D."

The man on the other line didn't seem to take this as a concern. " _We have problem_ ," He explained, and Pierce could hear Russian voices distantly yelling through the phone.

"What kind of problem, Karpov," Pierce nervously whispered, knowing a number of things could potentially be a problem.

" _The girl. She isn't in her compound. The door was open, her bed was empty_ ," The man, Karpov, recalled what the night patrol had recently informed him of and what had now turned into a manhunt around the base and perimeter to find her.

On the other line, Pierce felt like his heart stopped and he began to worry. "She's missing? How long, she can't have gotten far."

Karpov sighed, " _I was informed a few minutes ago, but she could've disappeared before that._ "

"What?" Pierce shouted, angrily clenching his eyes shut and tightening his fist around the phone. "And you're just now contacting me?"

There was static at the end of the line, Karpov refusing to answer, which made Pierce even more frustrated. This was the last thing he needed to stress about, but here he was. His mind started to go through all the worst possible scenarios that could evidently be true. He could have a mole within Hydra who let the girl out, she could somehow make it off the base and tell the world about them, he could be arrested and stripped of his Nobel Peace Prize...his brain went into overload.

Suddenly he heard shouting from Karpov's end, it sounded frantic but the connection wasn't well established for him to understand it clearly. Karpov's ragged breath came through the receiver, like he was running, and Pierce hated not knowing what was happening.

" _They think they found her in the east wing._ "

 _The east wing? That's where the_ _lab is_ _. What the hell is she doing there?_

"What's she doing there?" No answer. "Karpov!" Nothing. Karpov muttered something in Russian under his breath, and Pierce wasn't able to catch the meaning before more Russian followed. "What the hell is going on?" Pierce asked once more, his cheeks flushing with anger.

" _She did it._ " Was all Karpov said, leaving Pierce even more confused. He huffed, bringing his hand up to rub away the headache that was forming. It took another second before Karpov spoke into the receiver, " _Project Insight...it's finished._ "

* * *

 **A/N: I told myself i was going to have a concrete schedule of when i would publish chapters...and here I am three months later with an update sooo ;) I feel like its a really short one, but it took forever to write. anyway hope everyone enjoys this and I will try and have a new one ready to post by next Friday (that's probably a lie..) comments, questions, concern? hit that review button and let me know!**


	7. going into ourselves

_The beautiful townhouse was shroud by the dark of night. Laura felt an invisible tug pull her to the front door that now hung on a single hinge, showing a glimpse of the shattered glass that awaited her inside. Stepping over the glass, she winced when her shoe made contact with a few small shards that crunched loudly underneath her weight. The walls next to the staircase were coated in blood, still fresh, but the scene in the living room made her pause in her ascent._

 _Rounding the corner, she saw the loveseat overturned, and the two in-tables smashed. On the floor next to the debris lay her grandmother, still clutching a pair of knitting needles in her now lifeless hands, blood surrounding her frail body. She tried to scream, but the air felt like it'd been sucked from the room and she couldn't get a proper breath in. Laura didn't want to leave, but the same tugging from earlier was forcing her back to the stairs which she slowly started to climb. Her legs were bricks as they lifted from one step to the other, and no matter how hard she tried to stop walking she felt the need to continue._

 _The last step was blocked by a large body whose long legs were strewn out. It was Laura's father. His head rested against the wall baseboard, catching the drops of blood that fell from a larger stain above him. Tears were pouring from her eyes making it hard to see as she stepped over him and continued down the hall, following the large red footprints stamped into the carpet below her. They led to her parents' room where the door looked like it'd been rammed down and at least four men quickly exited through it, their hands tightly gripped scary-looking guns, and they raced past Laura who paused in fear. Not a single one of them had shown any sign that they'd seen her._

 _Feeling her feet start to move again, she walked up to the fallen door and through the walkway, closing her eyes as she prepared herself for what she saw. When she opened them, she saw her mother's upper half on the floor peeking out from the other side of the bed. Her blonde hair that was typically pulled tightly into a fancy updo was now spread out against the floor in a broken halo, the ends coated in a deep red. She looked at the lifeless woman remembering just last week when they went to the ballet, and how much her mother enjoyed it._

 _She wouldn't get to see any more ballets, Laura thought just as her vision cleared and the scene before her disappeared._

" _Laura, what are you doing? Get off the floor!"_

 _She heard her father's shoes slap against the floor as he neared her crying figure. A hand roughly grabbed her shoulder, making her look up into the eyes of her confused father. With the air back in her lungs, she breathed in deeply before she screamed, mirroring the high pitch of the now heated tea kettle._

 _What happened after she screamed was a complete blur to Laura. She vaguely remembered seeing her father's surprised face turn to pain as his eyes rolled back into his head and fell to the ground. Something that looked an awful lot like blood leaked from his ears. She thought she heard her mother scream in fear._

 _When did she wake up from her nap?_

 _Then two large men, dressed in white came into the house, quickly going to where Laura lay on the ground and lifted her up by her arms before starting to drag her out of the kitchen. She fought back, she remembered, kicking her legs wildly in the air, struggling to get out of the men's harsh grip._

Reopening her eyes, Laura winced at the bright fluorescent lights that shined above her, having to slowly blink a few times to properly adjust to it. She had an intense headache and tried to reach up and soothe it, but her hands never left her sides, instead of hitting against metal cuffs that strapped her down tightly to the metal table she lay on. Her heart started to beat wildly until she saw a familiar face seated on the other side of the room, his metal arm stretched out to the side while a man operated on it.

The Winter Soldier. _James_.

Her vision was blocked by a man in a white dress shirt who retracted an IV from her arm then proceeded to unlock the metal around her wrists before moving his bony hands toward her face. With a quickness he didn't expect, Laura tightly grabbed onto his wrist making him stop and cry out in pain. She heard the multiple sounds of safety be clicked off on the guns of the agents surrounding her and she didn't have to look to know they were all pointed at her.

"Let him go," ordered one man, his voice was deep and echoed against the room. She turned her head and glared at him, not recognizing his face.

Laura ignored him and continued holding onto the frightened man's wrist, but just before any bones could be snapped a shot of electricity shot through her spine and she cried out in pain.

She unclenched her fingers and let go, bruises started to form on his pale skin. The man took large steps backward arriving at another man dressed similar to him who rapidly moved his fingers across a small square box.

"The program is responsive," he mumbled under his breath, jotting something down on a notepad to his left. "It followed the coding commands accurately." Laura had no idea what he was saying, she didn't even know who the man was. Hydra frequently replaced their agents, killed them, on a routine basis so she was never overly interested in finding out who they were. None of the faces around her, save the Winter Soldier's, looked familiar even though she was taken out of cryofreeze a week and a half ago.

A whistle drew her attention back to the man who had held the gun to her face, it now tucked back into his side holster, his now irritated look directed at the other men. "She needs to go back to her compound," he huffed out, "unless you want that medicine to wear off which means a bruised wrist is the least of your worries."

She felt two pairs of arms wrap around her and hauled her off the medical bed, continuing to hold her up as they dragged her out of the room since her feet weren't able to carry her weight when they touched the floor. She was still dazed from abruptly waking up and whatever they dosed her with was hard to fight off, she barely processed going back to her compound. It wasn't until her sensitive ears picked up the sound of a metal door squeaking closed that she realized they had placed her on a dingy mattress which served as her bed for her stay at the new Hydra facility. On one of her more boring days she had figured out they were in a bank vault, what with the numerous squares lining the wall, each with a keyhole and number plaque, that gave it away.

Still dazed, Laura's eyes wandered around her 'room', her body not moving from its horizontal position on the mattress, looking over at the pile of assorted clothes that were heaped on the other side of the room. She didn't know if they were clean or dirty, but in a situation like this, they were most likely dirty. Near the clothes were loose papers expanding from one side of the room to the other, on them were multiple scribbles and drawings of visions she'd had the past couple days. It helped sort out what she saw and didn't leave her mind as muddled like usual, though she did wish they'd give her a variety in her drawing utensils, the solitary black crayon was shrinking by the day.

She felt an irritating sting on the back of her neck that made her head twitch suddenly to the left which caused a small spasm to course through the rest of her body. Whatever was there itched badly so she reached her hand up to scratch at it when her guards' gruff voice stopped her.

"Wouldn't do that," he spat out, looking through the cell bars at her, his arms crossed tightly over his black shirt that seemed to be a size too small. "The doc's did some surgery, can't have you scratchin' on it like a dog." She didn't say anything to him, just rolled onto her other side and stared blankly at the wall full of deposit boxes next to her. She wanted to be left alone.

He didn't take the hint, but snorted out a mean laugh and continue, "Yeah it's 'spose to make you more _obedient,_ can't have you mouthing off to your superiors like you did with Zola and Karpov." She heard him step closer to the bars. "Man, if I was in charge, I'd show you a thing or two about respect."

"Rumlow!" A sharp voice cut off his mocking. "Don't you have somewhere else you need to be?" Laura remembered the voice and looked over her right shoulder to see Pierce standing next to the agent standing guard. He had aged since the last time she saw him, and that had to be thirty years ago at least, but he still had the same important air that constantly surrounded him and his suit was pressed neatly like she assumed it always was.

She watched Rumlow tightly nod before turning and strutting off down the hallway. Pierce gestured for the agent with him to unlock the cell doors then stepped confidently into the vault, causing Laura to sit up. He clapped his hands together loudly, surveying the room before his eyes reached hers, smiling widely. To an outsider, it was just a smile, but she knew how cruel it really was.

"The doctors," he started, "said the surgery went well. You're now equipped with the latest Hydra technology." Noticing a loose piece of paper near his foot, he paused in his speech and bent down to pick it up, idly looking it over. It was a chaotic sketch of a black van flipped on its roof, wrecked in front of an intersection with large plumes of smoke billowing around it. Bored already, he released the drawing and watched it float back to the ground.

"Think of it as a modified shock collar," he said, excitement slipping into his words, "and it costs a very shiny penny to develop. You can still do all your daily activities and have your strange little seance dreams, but if someday you happen to step out of line a selective dosage of electricity should put you back on track. Just like the old days, right?" He chuckled and continued talking, but Laura had stopped paying attention instead of distracted by the sound of ammunition shells that suddenly started hitting the floor one by one.

 _Clink._

 _Clink._

It was all suddenly drowned out by a ringing noise that seemed to fill the room, the sharp sound hurting her sensitive ears and making her head pound. Pierce paused in his speech when he noticed Laura wasn't listening anymore, instead, she tightly pressed her hands against her ears and had her eyes squeezed shut.

"What the hell are you doing?" He angrily asked.

"That noise," she croaked, feeling like her skull was going to split open. "Make it stop!" Laura looked up at Pierce who remained stationary, his anger still apparent but it slowly started to morph into confusion.

She crawled off her cot and over to a piece of paper that rested close by, and taking the black crayon she started to sporadically drawn lines and circles all over the paper. The ringing and dropping of ammunition shells grew louder to point she thought her eardrums would burst but with the quickness of how it came, it disappeared just as fast. On the paper now covered in black marks, she made out a name from them: _Nick Fury._

Laura handed the paper to Pierce who had walked closer and his eyes widened when he saw the name, automatically knowing what it meant. "Three to the chest." He heard her mumble distantly before he took off from her cell.

Later that night, she wasn't sure what woke her, whether it was the bright hallway lights that flooded into her dark cell or the heavy footfalls of the passing night guard, but she tried to ignore it all. She always hated the nights after coming out of cryofreeze because that's when the stiffness and pain started to make their effects apparent on her body. Constantly being frozen and thawed over different times was awful, but she knew the Winter Soldier got the worst of it since they used him more than they needed her. She'd started to see the effects it had on him recently, watching his eyes constantly flicker from their normal coldness to them being lost and in a daze.

She let out a grunt, rolling over on her left side to block out the light shining in on her face. She needed sleep and lying awake, thinking about the Winter Soldier wasn't bringing her any closer to it. Closing her eyes, she finally felt her body start to relax when suddenly a burning sensation shot through her chest making her cry out in pain. She pressed a hand to her chest, but it did nothing to help and she soon felt another burning spot take hold on her upper left side. It was getting hard to breathe, every time she sucked in the air the burning in her chest grew. Laura heard a gunshot cut through the air and felt the unmistakable feeling of a bullet pierce through her chest. Just as quickly as it had come on, the pain vanished, and she lay there panting heavily up at the ceiling, a hand still clutched to her chest.

 _It was done._

Nick Fury was dead.


	8. we were drowning

**Guess who's not dead! This chapter was a PAIN to write and I have no idea why, but please enjoy. This is a somewhat filler but the action and TWS plot will fully begin next chapter that hopefully won't take me a millennium to write.**

 **Any questions, comments, concerns you have about the story let me hear 'em!**

* * *

"It is with a heavy heart that I inform you all about Director Nick Fury's passing."

The words feel rehearsed coming from Alexander Pierce's mouth. Well, that's because they were. He woke earlier than usual this morning, accepting the newspaper from the normal deliverer who looked surprised to see the man awake and spent his remaining three hours before work practicing his well thought out and empathetic speech for the rest of SHIELD's employees.

And they are lapping up every word.

"Early this morning," Pierce takes a rehearsed breath, "Nicky Fury was killed by a hostile target and later died at the city's hospital. I want to commend all the agents and doctors who were at the scene this morning, desperately giving their all to help."

His eyes move to where Sharon Carter stands near the front podium where he's delivering the speech. Her eyebrows were furrowed as she looks at a spot near his feet, keeping the composure of a trained agent while still showing signs of confusion and frustration. He would have to question her later in his office, he decides before lifting his eyes up and continuing.

"There is still much work to be done and I implore you to continue with your day, however, should the need arise we will have grief counselors available for the staff. Dismissed." He moves off the podium and his guards immediately surround him, Brock Rumlow at his left.

Pierce tilts his head down and whispers to Rumlow, "I need Melanie Radwell sent to my office promptly." Rumlow nods mutely and gestures for two other men to follow him as he heads off to the bank hideout while Pierce continues on to his office, nodding and smiling at those around him skirt out of his way as he passes.

He isn't sure how long he'll have to fake sadness for Fury, after all, he _is_ the one who ordered an execution, one that the Winter Soldier oh so obediently gave him, but it's exhausting having to keep so many secrets and from a spy agency of all things. Things will get better when Project Insight launches and he won't have to worry about a few million people overhearing him.

Total control.

All that he's wanted in life.

Who could take that from him?

* * *

New Washington Bank sits tightly on the corner of an intersection boldly in view of the thousands of cars and people that traverse that street every day. It's been abandoned for years, a remodeled version popping up a few years after it finally closed its doors a couple of streets down. No one takes notice of the large, black vehicles that leave the banks' parking garage periodically, most assume it's overflow parking for the hotel across the street and no one thinks anything more of it.

That's good, no curious eyes looking in on the bank. Total isolation from the busy streets of Washington D.C. A perfect place for the rats of Hydra to congregate.

In the banks' lower level, where multiple vaults and safety deposit boxes were once protected is where the real work happens. Much of the bank vaults are sectioned off for storing and working on machinery while the few remaining ones are makeshift homes for the permanent residents of the underground hideout. The largest vault is used as a makeshift training area, really only used by Laura and the Winter Soldier. It's large enough to accommodate their chaotic fight routines and for the ten-armed guards that always seem to stick to them like glue.

Laura grunted when she felt the Winter Soldier's fist fly into her gut. _At least it wasn't the metal one_ , she thought picking herself off the floor after being thrown back by the force of the punch. His fist came flying near her head this time, but she was quick enough to duck and throw a jab into his ribs before swiping at his leg. As he fell to the ground, he grabbed her ankle and pulled her with him, maneuvering to where he landed over her, one foot holding her ankle in place while the other weighed down her left arm. The mechanics in his metal arm _whirred_ before it snatches her throat and pressed her head down.

"Kinky," a gruff voice murmured behind them and they both twisted to see Rumlow leaning against the entrance of the vault gate. "If you two are finished, Pierce needs the girl."

The Winter Soldier exhaled roughly and retracted his hold on Laura which allowed her to flip back onto her feet. Before she stalked off toward Rumlow she sent a glare toward her fighting partner, one which he returned just as heatedly except accompanied it with a small smirk.

This wasn't over.

Laura followed Rumlow out of the room, barely catching the pile of clothes he threw at her. Unfolding them, she saw a navy blue pencil skirt with a matching blazer and a pale pink blouse. "What's this for?" She asked entering the parking deck where a black SUV was waiting for them.

"Shut up and put it on." Rumlow stopped and folded his arms, an act he always did he whenever he was impatient.

Which was always.

She looked around the concrete room and took note of the other three men behind Rumlow that looked plain bored. With a huff, she pulled off her shirt and replaced it for the blouse, knowing she wouldn't get the privacy she wanted. Zipping up the skirt and shaking on the blazer, she caught a glimpse of herself in the window. She looked rough, but that was a given, she couldn't remember the last time she needed to look presentable. Or had a haircut for that matter.

Rumlow opened the backseat door and climbed in, making Laura shut it after she sat down. The van started with a low rumble and rolled into the street, blending into the steady flow of traffic. People outside couldn't see in through the tinted windows, but she could see the city as they drove. It was sunny and there were lots of people minding their own business and getting errands done, it seemed so mundane but she enjoyed it nevertheless.

Laura had always wanted an exciting life when she was younger, to travel or do something else with the college education her mom forced her to get than be a woman trapped at home and at her husband's command. _"Who cares about the all-American family?"_ She once asked Susan Harrington, a friend and neighbor back in her hometown. A friend that by now has probably passed on. But now, it seemed too much to ask for. A small house in the country with a white fence running the perimeter, and maybe a dog. She almost teared up thinking about it.

Her memory of the past vanished when she felt something land in her lap. It was a small, disc-like device that barely weighed anything when she picked it up. She could see the criss-cross of technology that ran under its surface due to its clear design and was reminded of how far inventions had come since her time.

"Put it on," Rumlow muttered while he tapped against a small screen in his hand.

"What is it?"

He sighed. "It's gonna help you blend in where we're going. Now put it _on_. Behind your ear." He snapped when she still rolled it between her fingers.

After a quickly thrown glare, she slowly places it behind her ear and jumped when the device latched onto her skin. It wasn't painful but it was noticeable, to say the least. It gave a low hum before she felt a small puff of air and then felt something pull over her face. It felt like when a hand was too close to your face, not touching but just lingering in front, the presence and slight brush of fingertips hard to ignore.

She assumed she followed orders correctly because Rumlow didn't say anything for the rest of the drive. It wasn't until they parked at a tall, white building did she know what was happening. One of the officers in the front had gotten out and opened her door, offering his hand to help her out.

They've never done that before.

It got even stranger when Rumlow came up beside her and handed over a leather briefcase saying, "Here you are Miss Radwell."

She wasn't sure what was happening, but after seeing the wicked gleam in Rumlow's eyes she decided it was in her best interest to play along. With a smile that hurt her cheeks, she took the briefcase from him and followed the other agents as they directed her into the building. In the center of the lobby, they entered was a sculpture of...an eagle? She assumed that's what it was, looking past the straight-edged design it had been constructed with. Hundreds of people walked past each other, not stopping to talk, but simply continuing on their way and many held small rectangular devices up against their ears as they passed by, talking loudly over the noise created by everything else.

The noise made her head hurt and she resisted the urge to cover her ears with her hands. Rumlow continued walking and pulled her gently along, which was a first, over to a set of elevators. With two agents standing behind her and Rumlow to her side, he made sure to close the doors before anyone else could enter.

"Take us all the way up." It was a short command that Rumlow gave and it was then she realized the absence of buttons along the elevator's wall.

" _Access denied. Unidentified personnelle."_

The out of body voice that filled the elevator almost made her jump. Rumlow groaned and pulled a badge from his pocket, holding it high in the air. "Melanie Radwell, level five clearance." His voice was stern and echoed in the small space.

A quiet _whirring_ noise could be heard within the walls and she looked up to catch a dull red light blinking next to where the floor level was displayed.

A camera.

Against her better judgment, she stared down the red light just as it stopped blinking.

" _Visual match. Access granted."_ The elevator began to lift and she watched the level number grow higher and higher. Rumlow tossed the badge he held over to her, telling her to put it on. She stared at it longer than she meant to but she finally knew who Melanie Radwell was. She was a pale brunette with a small nose and hazel eyes, neither of which Laura had, and was smiling brightly at the camera that took her picture. _Visual match_ , the voice had said and suddenly wondered what (or who) the camera had seen.

The elevator opened with a _ping_ and they filed out into a long hallway with floor to ceiling windows on their right. They walked in silence, the heels Laura had on was the only sound being made, and headed for a closed door with a golden plaque at the far end.

Rumlow gave two hard knocks and it only took a couple of seconds for the door to be opened. Alexander Pierce stood to the side with one hand loosely in his vest pocket and the other one on the door handle, behind on the many couches in his office was a large man that Laura had never seen before. He had a circular shield on his back with a white star on it and an unreadable expression.

The edges of Pierce's mouth turned downward but he replaced with a tight smile and turned to his guest on the couch. "Captain Rogers, I'm sorry but I'm afraid we'll need to cut our conversation short."

Captain Rogers nodded and stood up, easily towering over everyone in the room. He walked over to where Pierce held the door open but stopped when he saw Laura in the hall.

"Ma'am." He nodded.

"Captain, this is Melanie Radwell." Pierce shifted to the side as Captain Rogers held out his hand to her and she wasn't surprised when it swallowed her own. "She's helping me develop a new project S.H.I.E.L.D is working on."

So she was at S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters. Laura has heard Rumlow and his goons complain about this place a few times; how the cafeteria food was always cold, the elevator rides took too long, and how none of the women there gave him the time of day.

"Nice to meet you." His hand was warm and unlike the other people she came in contact with, she didn't feel the wave of death run through her which was a comforting feeling.

Captain Rogers moved past her and headed off. "Hey Cap, wait up!" Rumlow called and he shared a look with Pierce before following him into the elevator

"Did you see anything from him?"

"No, the contact wasn't long enough," She lied knowing Pierce wanted to hear of Captain Rogers' demise and she couldn't see it coming anytime soon.

He growled and walked over to a large window that overlooked the Potomac Bay. Laura had spent enough time around him to know he was angry and it was good to stay out of his warpath so she tried to blend into the pale wall behind her and wait for him to calm down.

"It doesn't matter," he finally mutters, "I've got a plan to fix this entire mess." He turned back around and gestured for her to have a seat on the plush couch. It was soft and comfortable, something she hadn't had in a long time. "I called you here today because Project Insight will launch in 48 hours and there will be a few changes taking place."

"What changes, Sir?"

Pierce opened his mouth but before he could speak his office door burst open and three STRIKE agents stood, gasping for breath. "Sir, Captain Rogers escaped."

Laura had never seen a person turn the shade of red that Pierce did just then.


	9. inside our hearts

**Almost 100 favorites! Yay! Anyway did you guys see the Black Widow trailer? Yelena CAN. GET. IT. Periodt.**

 _ **Russia, 1994**_

 _Russia was cold, and not the type of cold where you could wear a fluffy coat and it'd go away. No. You could wear three coats, a hat, and mittens and still feel the freezing wind puncture your skin. Laura wasn't accustomed to the Russian weather, not since the last time she was out in it she tried escaping Hydra in nothing but her linen pajamas and they caught her stuck in a snowbank, after that she was rarely out in the elements without the proper attire and supervision._

 _But standing behind a stained window looking out at the group of young girls who were running laps in the snow, and in shorts and short-sleeves, she suddenly felt bad about complaining. The girls were no older than ten, found in orphanages all across Russia, and currently being trained as assassins for the KGB. Behind her from where she stood in the training room another group of girls practiced their fighting technique, mimicking the moves shown by the Winter Soldier. He was to be one of their teachers for a small amount of time, training a selective amount of girls that were enrolled in the new Black Widow Program. She heard Karpov talking to the Head Mistress over the girls about how only one would be allowed to graduate from the program._

" _Who do you put your faith into?" Karpov asked. He stood near the doors that led out to a large staircase that had seen better days._

 _The woman, who Laura has learned to call Mistress B, pursed her lips, "I do not have faith in any of these applicants. They have not proven themselves to me yet."_

 _Across the room, a girl with a dark blonde braid body slammed another girl into the ground and took a swipe at her jaw. From Laura's place, she could see a slight change in Mistress B's posture and swore she saw the woman's lips turn up at the sides._

" _The only ones who will pass are those that are not weak." She picked up the whistle that hung around her neck and gave three sharp blows into it and all the girls stopped what they were doing to stand at attention. The girl that got slammed to the ground was a little slower to react. "You will have a three-minute break before your next lesson. Go now."_

 _All the girls filled out, breaking off into smaller groups. Karpov, Mistress B, and the Winter Soldier followed them out, Laura went to follow but stopped when she saw one of the girls linger behind. Her hair had come out of the tight bun it was once in, and frizzed out from her sweating making it look like she had a fiery red halo. She looked like she was about to cry but at the last minute took a deep breath and headed for the door._

" _Hey," Laura called. It was the first time she'd spoken since she arrived. The girl froze and looked over her shoulder, narrowing her eyes at Laura. "The girl favors her left side too much." Her Russian was still improving but the girl got the gist of what she said, nodded, and left the room._

 _Laura turned back to the window and watched the same group of girls outside start doing a routine that warmed their muscles up and thought of what Mistress B had said._

" _Those who are not weak will pass."_

* * *

 **Camp Lehigh, Present Day**

Natasha Romanoff considered herself to be one of the most resourceful people she knew, but with Fury now dead, S.H.I.E.L.D compromised, and a secret underground headquarters she was starting to become a little stressed. Not that she'd ever tell anyone how she felt, though the car ride to New Jersey with Rogers did come with an unexpected personal chat, she remained calm and collected on the outside putting on a front she was always told to have.

After Steve found a hidden elevator in the original SSR headquarters they had taken it down to find a large office, overcrowded with computers from the 90s that all connected to one main set of computers in the middle of the room. She found a switch on the wall and it flickered on four sets of fluorescent lights that led to the main computers, almost like a pathway to their fate.

The grates squeaked under their feet and Natasha noticed how thick the dust settled over everything and next to the computers was a modern-looking flash drive plug-in that definitely didn't go with the whole retro vibe. She pulled the flash drive out of her pocket and waited for it to boot up. The computer flickered to life and showed a dialogue box asking for a code that she happily inputted.

"Y-E-S spells yes," she muttered under her breath while a smirk appeared on her face. She turned to Steve knowing he probably had no idea what she was talking about. "It's from a popular-"

"Yeah, I saw it," he cut her off. His eyebrows kept scrunching down the farther they untangled this web of lies S.H.I.E.L.D seemed to be made up of, and she was positive if they kept going down he'd up with no eyebrows and a new mustache.

The computer screen changed to an ugly green color before a pixelated face appeared and started speaking, "Rogers, Steven. Born, 1918. Romanoff, Natalia Alianovna. Born, 1984." The computer spoke with an accent that Steve seemed to recognize because he stiffened next to her.

"It's probably some recording," she said, more to herself, and then spotted the red glare of a camera pointed down at them.

"I am not a recording," the computer spoke, "I may not look like the same man I was in 1945, but I'm disappointed you don't recognize me, Captain." On the screen appeared a black and white photo of a short man with glasses.

"Zola," Steve grumbled. His fist tightened and he felt his nails press into his skin hard enough to make them bleed. "He was a German scientist who worked for the Red Skull. He's supposed to be dead," he explained when Natasha shot a confused look between him and the computer.

"I am Swiss," Zola complained and allowed more pictures to flash on the screen. "In 1972 my body died, but science was able to preserve my brain on two hundred thousand feet of data banks. I have never been more alive, Captain."

The images they saw on the screen were multiple newspaper clippings that had Zola photographed in the background of them. The words _Operation Paperclip_ flashed on the screen as news headlines while the computer starts playing a video of soldiers mutely chanting with their arms raised; a skull with octopus tentacles was worn by all the soldiers. Next, the picture of a man with a red face and no nose showed up and glared at the camera.

Steve slammed his hands down on the table. "Hydra died with the Red Skull."

Zola gave a pixelated chuckle, "After the war when SHIELD was founded and I was recruited, the new Hydra grew like a beautiful parasite. For seventy years Hydra has been secretly feeding crisis, reaping war. And when history did not cooperate, history was changed."

"That's impossible SHIELD would've stopped you." Natasha felt her breath catch when she saw a newspaper clipping released after Fury's death appear on the screen.

"Accidents will happen." Another picture filled the screen, this one of a burning building no doubt organized by Hydra, but it wasn't until a black and white photo of a young woman came up that Natasha felt some sort of memory tug at the back of her mind.

" _Stop pulling your punches,"_ The voice in her mind whispered.

Zola kept on, "Hydra created a world so chaotic that humanity is finally ready to sacrifice its freedom to gain its security. We won, Captain. Your death amounts to the same as your life; a zero-sum-"

Steve, having kept quiet long enough, pulled his fist back and punched the screen, shutting off any more of Zola's rambling. A screen to their right flickered green and Zola's pixelated face reappeared. "As I was saying-"

"What's on the drive?" Steve asked.

"Project Insight needed a specific algorithm to get going."

"What kind of algorithm?" Natasha asked just when her phone gave a chirp. She pulled it out and saw a red target appearing over their location along with an incoming alert to an airborne projectile. "Steve we got a bogey."

The doors to the elevator that brought them down started to close and a red warning light filled the air. "I'm afraid I have been stalling. You and I are both out of time, Captain."

Steve found a loosened grate on the floor and tore it off, grabbing Natasha around the waist, before throwing them both into the hole just as the missile crashed onto the base.

* * *

Laura hadn't slept well that night. No one there had really slept either, she could hear boots clunking up and down the hallway while she tossed and turned on her cot. Something was going on that had everyone up and armed but she couldn't care less, all she hoped was to get more than four hours of sleep but so far three and a half was her limit.

She sat up in the dark and watched guards march up and down past her cell. The dim lights from the hallway bled onto the walls, casting a glare on the safety deposit boxes that lined down to the floor. One of the lights flickered on and off for a second before returning back to its original way, and that's when she felt a presence in the room with her.

"I thought I told you to leave me alone," she said. She knew who was next to her before she even turned around, and when she did, she saw the familiar face that had been popping up in her dreams and refused to leave her alone.

The man moved in front of her smirked though it was covered by the blood that coated half his face thanks to the bullet wound going through his jaw. "Oh come off it, you live to see my handsome face every day."

"Not when you're being an ass."

The man huffed and stood up, walking around the small confines of the room. "Ouch. What would Mom say if she heard you speaking like that?"

"Considering she's been dead for sixty years...not much." Laura rolled over on her side away from the man. Her eyes closed and she enjoyed the silence that surrounded her until his throat cleared. "Why is it every time I try and sleep you decide to make an appearance?"

"Because that's the only time I can. Your mind finally opens up and I'm able to slip past the barrier to see you. The Other Side gets lonely and...I miss talking to my sister."

"When I said my goodbyes at your funeral I thought that'd be it."

"Why are you being mean?" Laura groaned and sat up again, pressing her hands into her eyes. "You're acting like I'm _not_ the one who covered when you and Susan Harrington decided to get drunk on the 'secret' whiskey Dad kept hidden in his office desk."

"And while I thank you for your service, Peter, I had everything completely handled back then."

"You puked on his shoes." Peter crossed his arms.

"Is there a point to your visit or are you just here to annoy me?"

"Little bit of both. Something's not right Laura. I'm hearing a lot of whispers on the Other Side...something bad's coming."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, a few million people are about to be taken off the face of the Earth when Insight launches."

"No, they're not." He twisted his hands together. "I mean at least not by those helicarriers. You need to talk to her. She can explain all this better than I can."

"No. I told you I'm not speaking to her."

"Laura-"

"I think you need to leave."

"I'm no-"

"Get out!" She snatched up the closest thing to her, a lumpy pillow, and launched it at the apparition. It dissolved his body and thudded against the bars of her cell.

"Hey!" A guard shouted at her, obviously startled by the sudden appearance of a pillow flying through the air.

"Sorry." Peter was gone and now she stood alone. "There was a bug."

The guard huffed and after deciding she was no threat went back on his patrol rounds. With it finally quiet again, she grabbed the pillow and laid back down, hoping to get the sleep she never seemed to receive. All too soon the lights flickered on and the cell was unlocked and opened. Rumlow commanded her to get up and after a few seconds, she was able to haul herself out of bed and followed after him when he took off down the hallway to their main meeting area. Pierce was already there along with several other STRIKE agents that huddled around large monitors in the room.

"We searched Camp Lehigh top to bottom, Sir," A man was explaining to Pierce when she arrived. "That missile took out a hundred-foot radius and we didn't find a single piece of them. They're still out there."

Laura settled herself next to a table in the back, out of the way of everyone's scheming. She didn't even need to sit in on debriefing meetings, but Pierce wanted her there in case she 'saw anything of use' because apparently after thirty-odd years he still thought that she was a trained circus animal who could produce visions out of thin air whenever he asked. Apart of her wanted to smugly tell him what she saw one night, about the bullet holes soon to decorate his chest. But he seemed so happy with world domination she didn't want to ruin his fun. It would happen soon though, deaths only came to her whenever someone would be close to dying, she gives him at least another two days.

Pierce's face was turning red. "Dammit! They don't have any resources inside SHIELD anymore, but as much as I hate to say it Rogers and Romanoff are smart. They're going to find a way to infiltrate us sooner or later." He looked around the room at the men and women who silently stared back at him. "Is someone going to offer an idea or are you all going to stand there like a fish out of water?"

Everyone awkwardly shifted.

"Jasper Sitwell." Laura's voice echoed in the room and all heads turned to her.

"Pardon me?"

"Sitwell was the only one of high importance on the Lemurian Star and he's got connections to Project Insight, too. If Rogers and Romanoff are as smart as you say they are then they'll have no problem making that connection. And let's face it if anyone was to crack under pressure it'd be Sitwell."

Pierce seemed to consider it. He snapped his fingers at a man who was stationed at a monitor. "Where's he now?"

The man's fingers flew across the keyboard and after several minutes spoke, "He's got a meeting with Senator Stern in Suite B of the Totali Plaza until two."

"We've got fifteen minutes left."

"You want a team mobilized?" Rumlow finally spoke up.

"Not yet, but be on standby. Right now I want reconnaissance." He made eyes with Laura and pointed in her direction. "Get ready, I want you at Totali Plaza to access the situation."

She wasn't surprised when STRIKE agents followed her out to the waiting van after she had grabbed supplies for recon, she wasn't allowed out unless she had a team watching her every move. It's not like she could actually go anywhere. The tracking device implanted in her was a dead give away to her location and since Rumlow _kindly_ reminded her that should she step out of line she'd be electrocuted to the moon and back, running away wasn't in her bag of options anymore. What did surprise her though was when they pulled up across the target building to an equally tall one that no one followed her up as she got to a higher advantage point to access the situation. Normally they're up her ass making sure she's doing everything right but never have they left her to her own devices. She was grateful for it though, she could set up her equipment without someone breathing over her shoulder.

The fifteen-story building had its last two floors closed for maintenance and she was able to sneak past the headphoned janitor who nodded his head to the music while waxing the floor, and up to the highest level that had multiple office rooms and one with a window overlooking Totali Plaza. No one questioned the bag she brought in and up the stairs but things seemed hectic in the lobby area so she was able to walk right past the front desk. With the bag opened she removed the rifle scope and its other components before assembling like she saw the Winter Soldier do a thousand and one times.

The scream that filtered through the quiet office area shocked her and almost made her drop the rifle. No one was on the floor with her but across the room where another window faced out to a different building, she saw a body falling from higher up. She crossed the office and looked out the window, gaping at the man who spun in the air as gravity pulled him down to the street. She was about to shut her eyes when another figure came from above and grabbed the man's shoulder, lifting him upward with the help of his…

Did that man have wings?

"What the hell?" He flew off before she could get a good look at him and headed up to the roof of an opposite building. Laura squinted and saw a woman with red hair and a man who looked like a blurry version of Captain Rogers. She hurried back to her bag and reached for the two-way radio. "The targets have Sitwell!"

Static buzzed on the other in. She double-checked the channel she was on and tried again. "Do you copy?"

Silence.

The roof was empty when she went back to look but movement on the street drew her eyes and she saw Sitwell being pushed into the backseat of a car. It took off and merged onto the highway before she was able to search for a license plate. "They're in a grey car heading north on the highway," she spoke again into the radio and the same static played back. "Hello!"

Dammit!

Unsure of what else to do, she threw the radio back in the bag and ran out of the office, startling the janitor who came up to continue waxing the floors and hurried for the stairs that took her down the lobby. Once on the street, she noticed the van that brought her for recon had disappeared. She started to notice the people on the streets who pushed past or knocked against her, it was overwhelming she saw at least three people's lives flash around her and a scream bubbled in her throat but she held it down. She had never been out on her own before. She didn't even know which way led her back to Hydra's base. The only other thing she could think of was following the grey car and that's exactly what she did.


	10. as though we lived falling

**Hello everybody! Hope your 2020 year is going well. Guess who restarts college next week and didn't find out til yesterday...this girl! Anyway I hope you all enjoy this story. Leave a review and tell me what you think!**

* * *

Running had never been a strong suit of Laura's and even with the years of training she still got winded. She had taken off in the general direction of the car but after turning the corner and seeing the streets criss-cross around one another she wasn't sure which path to take. People jumped out of her way when she ran past and the unfortunate hot dog cart that had parked itself at the end of the street should be thankful that her reflexes took over and she skirted around it.

She spotted the car merging onto the highway and that's where her chase should've ended. She should've gone back to the building, grabbed the bag she had stupidly left, and force-fed the janitor some stupid story that wouldn't make him suspicious. But after she ran off he probably discovered the arsenal tucked in the bag and alerted the authorities.

God, she was going to be in so much trouble.

The car was now in an impossible place for her to reach unless in the next few seconds she discovered she could run at the speed of a moving vehicle or, even better, fly. Her mind switched back to the man who had appeared out of thin air wearing a set of robotic wings. Is that how people traveled around now? Was she so out of touch with the time that everything had changed around her to the point of being unrecognizable?

She stopped running now, there was no point in following them anymore. She'd just have to wait around until the tracking device embedded in her neck went off and Hydra found her again. There was no point in even trying to outrun them. She entertained the idea of finding a sharp object and cutting it out but after reviewing the plan a couple of times she figured that might not be the best solution.

Up ahead a bus squeaked to a halt, making its rounds through the city and that's where a new plan formed. Both doors to the bus were opened, the front ones allowing people in and the back ones dropping off any passengers whose stop it was. She walked forward and tried to look casual after just running three blocks, didn't want to make herself look any more suspicious than she probably already did. The back doors were still open when she arrived and as an older gentleman climbed out she hopped on and ducked into the back before the bus driver had a chance to spot her.

It took off a minute later, sealing its doors and rejoining the cities traffic. She looked around at the occupants she shared the vehicle with and did a double-take when three spots in front of her she saw a little girl with black pigtails peeking over the seat. She just stared at Laura who started to become uncomfortable with the girls' gaze and did the first thing that came to mind: stick out her tongue.

The girl giggled and flipped back around but still peeked over her shoulder every now and then. Laura had never really liked children in her old life, she had seen many of her friends struggle with raising a kid and eventually watched as the housekeeper became the full-time caretaker. She planned to not have any, much to her mother's disappointment, and with everything that happened with Hydra leading up to where she was now, she knew kids would never be an option. How could she willingly bring a life into this world after seeing all the evil that operated behind closed doors?

The bus ride was peaceful as there weren't too many people aboard and she enjoyed the silence. The window she sat next to reflected her appearance and she cringed at what she saw; greasy hair pulled into a braid, deep circles under her eyes, and a bruise running the length of her chin. Courtesy of her last training session. She looked awful, she was surprised no one stopped and asked if she was alright but then again if anyone got involved with her she was sure Hydra would end their lives.

"No loose ends" as they like to say.

Too bad the biggest loose end was running free around Washington D.C. at the moment.

She wasn't sure what to do when the bus reaches its next stop, should she get off and look for signs that might take her back to the underground vault or should she just make a run for it and deal with Hydra whenever they ultimately found her? Neither option seemed like a good one. Thankfully, Fate decided to intervene at that exact moment and caused Laura to choose her path.

At high speed, a man crashed through the front of the bus which frightened the driver, making him swerve into an oncoming truck that flipped the bus onto its side. Laura was thrown into another seat and fell on top of a couple who were already cowering between seats. The man helped her off them and she surveyed the damage. People were panicking and over the ringing in her ears, Laura picked up the distinct rhythm of a machine gun being fired.

Instantly, she knew it was Hydra. Who else would cause so much damage?

A man groaned on the floor next to her and struggled to get up. She grabbed his arm, _man he was heavy_ , and sat him up, wincing when his head roughly hit a metal bar behind them.

"Are you okay?" She asked. It took him a second to respond but eventually, he nodded.

He unsteadily got to his feet, much to Laura's protest. "We got to get these people out of here." His voice was stern with authority but also familiar, and after looking him over she recognized the familiarity.

It was Steve Rogers. Before she could process what was happening he hobbled over to the top of the bus that was now on its side and unlocked the emergency exit. Immediately he started helping people up and getting them out one by one. This was the 'evil man' Pierce hated so much? She watched him lift an elderly man out of the bus and into the arms of another passenger. Yes, he sure was evil.

Laura grabbed the little girl with black pigtails and handed her out to her mother who screamed frantically for her daughter. Gunshots peppered the air and people on the streets ran in the opposite direction, abandoning their cars in the middle of the road. Someone grabbed her from behind and pushed her out the exit just in time for a shower of bullets to puncture through the length of the bus.

She sprinted to a truck nearby and took cover, flinching when bullets flew too close and _pinged_ off the metal. Risking a glance over the side she spotted a masked figure on a bridge up above who fired shots from a rifle into the running crowd. The Winter Soldier. Was he here to drag her back to Hydra? Next to her, a lithe figure ran out from the cover of a car and took off down the street, her red hair flying behind her.

Something deep in the recesses of Laura's mind flickered to life and she took off after the redhead. The woman was fast, dodging through the crowd of screaming people and around building corners, how Laura was able to catch up with her was a mystery but with one final burst of speed, she grabbed her shoulder.

"Natalia."

The woman acted instinctively and delivered a sweeping kick to Laura's side that threw her to the ground. A pair of handguns were pointed at her face and behind them, she saw a face she didn't expect to ever see again. Young Natalia Alianova Romanova, who she later learned went by Natasha, had grown from a scared little orphan to a woman trained to kill her enemies and now she set her sights on Laura.

Laura should've been scared but the memories she had of Natalia were fond ones. "You've grown _malen'kiy pauk_ ," she gasped out.

Natasha stared down the barrel of one of the guns, at one of the many ghosts of her past debating on whether or not to end one more nightmare. The hesitation she showed was a second too long because off in the distant a masked figure fired at her through the window of a car, the bullet lodging itself in her upper shoulder.

She dropped to the ground and shielded herself up against the nearest vehicle. Laura scanned the streets looking for signs of the shooter when the Winter Soldier jumped on the hood of a car and aimed at Natasha.

With the speed that she couldn't comprehend, Steve appeared and tackled the Winter Soldier, engaging in hand-to-hand combat that made them move like a blur. A stray bullet flew close to Laura's head from one of the many guns the Soldier had stashed on his person and she rolled herself over to hide behind the same car Natasha did.

"You're shot."

"Don't pretend you care," Natasha bit out, clutching her chest.

Laura wasn't sure how to respond to that. She watched Natasha take a deep breath and slink out behind the car over to a weapon that lay idle. It was large and dangerous looking. Natasha hefted it up on her good shoulder and took aim at the fighting men.

She wasn't ready for a man to swoop in from the air, large metal wings attached to his back, and kick the Winter Soldier in the face. It sent him flying to the side but he recovered quickly, pulling out another gun and aiming at Steve before Natasha fired a shot. He dodged it and it ended up blowing up a car that was parked behind him.

As the flames and smoke began to clear, there was no trace of the Winter Soldier.

Multiple black vans surrounded them and men filed out with their guns raised, yelling and surrounding the only four people left on the streets. Laura kept her eyes on the spot she had last seen the Winter Soldier before the grenade launcher was shot at him and he disappeared in the chaos.

Rumlow walked forward and forced Steve onto his knees, kicking away the shield he had dropped to the ground. A man came over to Laura and yelled at her to get down and put her hands up which she hesitantly complied. He pulled out a pair of electromagnetic handcuffs she was all too familiar with and clicked it around her wrists before hauling her up and dragging her in line with the other prisoners to the back of an armored van.

"Thought you'd disappear on us?" Rumlow growled in her ear when she passed him. When she was secured in the van he clamped a pair of cuffs around her ankles like what had been done to the others and slammed the doors closed, a lock hissing into place.

The van started up with a rumble and took off. At the back sat two guards who remained motionless with thick helmets covering their heads. Steve was on Laura's right and Natasha directly across from her giving an icy glare that would've been more terrifying if she wasn't bleeding profusely from her shoulder.

Silence enveloped them. After a couple of potholes were hit causing the van to rattle Laura spoke, "This is cozy." She struggled to tap her shoes against the metal bed since they were so tightly cuffed.

"I'm sorry, but it's been a rough day," the man who sat across from Steve spoke, "who the hell are you?"

"She's someone whose ass I'm going to kick," Natasha spit out.

Laura snorted. "Big words for someone with a bullet hole in her shoulder."

Natasha made a move to get up, even though she was bound like the rest of them, but paused when one of the guards pulled out an electric baton and charged it up. A warning to all of them. Her body hunched back and the guard put away his weapon. She looked over to Steve who just stared at the floor. "Steve, you okay?"

"It was him."

"How's that even possible?" The guy across from him asked.

"Bucky was captured in '43 and knowing Hydra they probably ran some kind of experiments on him." He trailed off, a lost look in his eyes. "He looked right at me like he didn't even know me."

"'Cause he doesn't." All three heads turned to Laura who looked to be relaxed as they were carted off to their doom. "After every mission, they wiped his mind clean. No questionable thoughts. No guilt. No remorse."

Steve glared at her. "How do you know this?"

"I've been stuck with the guy for the last fifty years, seen them scramble his mind every time."

"None of that's your fault, Steve." Natasha gasped. The blood oozing from her shoulder was starting to spill out and she started to feel the dizzying effect of blood loss.

"Even when I had nothing, I had Bucky."

Sam was focused on Natasha whose face became gaunt and pale. She let out a moan of pain. "We need to get a doctor or she's gonna bleed out." He yelled to the guards in the corner but they remained motionless. "Hey, are you listen-"

He flinched when one of the guards pulled out their baton that sparked with electricity. They all watched in confusion as the baton was jabbed into the other guard's side before a swift head kick made the masked figure slump in its seat.

The guard tugged off their mask and groaned. "That thing was squeezing my brain."

A woman who Laura had never seen before looked around the van cab. She swiped at the bangs covering her face and her eyes darted back and forth to Laura and Sam. "Who are these guys?"

"This is Sam. He's with us," Steve said and waited for the woman to unlock the cuffs the bound his wrists and ankles. "Agent Hill, how did you get here?"

She brought out a small device from her back pocket and went to work freeing them. "Not important. We need to get out of here before they take us completely off the grid. There's a stoplight coming up and that'll be our only chance to get out." She stopped in front of Laura and they held each other's stares. So far not a move was made to get Laura's restraints off. "What about her?"

Natasha, who leaned against Sam for support, glared at her. "Just leave her."

"She's Hydra, she could have information we can use," Steve mentioned, rubbing his wrist where the skin was raw.

The agent turned back to her and held out the baton, the end crackling with electricity. "Either come with us quietly or we can use force."

Laura couldn't help but let a laugh escape. She liked this woman. "I'd like to see you try."

Agent Hill smirked before jamming the baton into Laura's side and let electricity pulse through her for a couple of seconds before she collapsed against the metal wall. She breathed heavily, glaring at the woman in front of her who raised an eyebrow. Laura nodded and watched as her restraints were cut away. After that Hill got to work sawing through the metal floor before kicking away the excess. The street moved quickly underneath them the white and yellow lines blurring together.

"Out you go."

Laura gasped when a shove to her back sent her tumbling through the hole and landing hard on the pavement. Not a moment later another body landed next to her and forced her hands behind her back. "Move," Hill ordered, pushing her to an inconspicuous grey van that resided on the side of the road.

Great.

Out of Hydra's hands and into another's.


End file.
